Job cuts to take place at Aston Martin

Staff reporter

Luxury car manufacturer Aston Martin will make almost 300 job cuts as it tries to turn around its loss-making business.

The 102-year old company, which has its main manufacturing site in Gaydon, had a total workforce of around 2,100 at the start of the year but has said in a statement that it has ‘commenced a business rebalancing programme’ designed to make the company ‘more efficient and appropriately resourced’.

The statement adds: “Collective consultation with employee representatives, including Unite, has begun and the company is working with them to minimise the risk of compulsory redundancies.

“The proposed upper limit of affected positions is 295 and the company hopes to minimise this number by offering early retirement, voluntary redundancies and through not recruiting current open positions.

“Production and sales targets for this year remain unchanged, and Aston Martin will continue to design, develop and engineer new models as part of its Second Century plan for growth and profitable business expansion.”

Unite, the UK’s largest union, has said it will oppose any compulsory redundancies at the company.

Regional officer Tim Parker said: “Aston Martin has two priceless assets: - its global brand name as a British world-class producer of iconic luxury sports cars and, just as importantly, its highly skilled workforce which contributes massively to the design and production of these fabulous cars. “We believe that both of these priceless assets are equally important in securing a successful future for this world-class business.

“We are currently in talks with the company on reducing the overall total number of job losses in the reorganised structure. Unite is opposed to any compulsory redundancies and insist that any job losses should only take place by means of voluntary redundancies, early retirements and ending the use of external consultancy contract staff.”